CreatureData

Burrowing owl

Athene cunicularia (Molina, 1782)

LCLeast Concernowls

The burrowing owl (Athene cunicularia) is a species in the family Strigidae, order Strigiformes. Recorded adults weigh 146.3 g to 156 g and live up to 8.7 years. Its IUCN Red List status is Least Concern.

Burrowing owl (Athene cunicularia)
Photo: Dario Sanches from São Paulo, Brazil · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Quick facts about the burrowing owl

Weight
146.3 g – 156 gsrc for Weight
Length
Not recorded
Wingspan
59.5 cmsrc for Wingspan
Lifespan
8.7 yearssrc for Lifespan
Diet
Carnivoresrc for Diet
Longest recorded lifespan
11 years
Main food
Not recorded
Habitat
grasslandsrc for Habitat
Egg incubation
28 dayssrc for Egg incubation
Young per litter or clutch
8src for Young per litter or clutch
Age at maturity
12 monthssrc for Age at maturity
Litters or clutches a year
1.25src for Litters or clutches a year
Lifestyle
Generalistsrc for Lifestyle
Migration
Sedentarysrc for Migration
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
Countries on record
Not recorded

How big is the burrowing owl?

BURROWING OWL · WINGSPAN 59.5 CMADULT HUMAN · HEIGHT 1.7 M
At 59.5 cm, the recorded maximum wingspan of the burrowing owl is about 35% of the height of an adult human (1.7 m, a fixed reference used for scale).

Where does the burrowing owl live?

Not recorded

What is the burrowing owl?

Quoted from WikipediaCC BY-SA 4.0

The burrowing owl (Athene cunicularia) is a small, long-legged, primarily terrestrial—though not flightless—species of owl native to the open landscapes of North and South America. They are typically found in grasslands, rangelands, agricultural areas, deserts, or any other open, dry area with low vegetation. They nest and roost in burrows, and, despite their common name, do not often construct these dwellings themselves, rather repurposing disused burrows or tunnels previously excavated and inhabited by other species, such as American badgers (Taxidea taxus), foxes (Vulpes sp.), ground squirrels or prairie dogs (Cynomys spp.), among others.

Unlike most owls, burrowing owls are often active during the day, although they tend to avoid the heat of midday. But, similar to many other species of owls, they are mostly crepuscular hunters, as they can utilize their night vision and attuned hearing to maximum potential during sunrise and sunset. Having evolved to live on open grasslands and prairie habitat (as well as badlands, chaparral and desert ecosystems), as opposed to dense forest, the burrowing owl has developed longer legs than other owls, a trait which enables it to sprint when pursuing its prey, not dissimilarly to the greater roadrunner, as well as providing momentum when taking flight; however, burrowing owls typically only become airborne for short bursts, such as when fleeing threats, and typically do not fly very high off of the ground.

From the Wikipedia article “Burrowing owl” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Burrowing_owl&oldid=1384660384), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.

Is the burrowing owl endangered?

The burrowing owl is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.

  1. LCLeast Concern
  2. NTNear Threatened
  3. VUVulnerable
  4. ENEndangered
  5. CRCritically Endangered
  6. EWExtinct in the Wild
  7. EXExtinct

Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species.

How is the burrowing owl classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumChordata
  3. classAves
  4. orderStrigiformes
  5. familyStrigidae
  6. genusAthene
  7. SpeciesAthene cunicularia (Molina, 1782)

Synonyms Glaucidium dickinsoni, Otus providentiae, Speotyto cunicularia, Speotyto cunicularia cunicularia, Speotyto cunicularia cunicularia, Strix californica, Strix cunicularia

Other names and names in other languages (72)
  • Large-headed burrowing owlEnglish
  • بوم الحفرArabic
  • tebe'eibee3eiArapaho
  • Трусіны сычBelarusian
  • Пещерна соваBulgarian
  • mussol de llorigueraCatalan
  • A'o'tsémêstaa'eCheyenne
  • sýček králičíCzech
  • tylluan dyrcholWelsh
  • PrærieugleDanish
  • HöhleneuleGerman
  • Kaninchen-EuleGerman
  • KaninchenkauzGerman
  • PrärieeuleGerman
  • PräriekauzGerman
  • KuniklostrigoEsperanto
  • kunikla strigetoEsperanto
  • MurrucoSpanish
  • CucúSpanish
  • Lechucita de campoSpanish
  • Lechucita de las vizcacherasSpanish
  • Lechucita vizcacheraSpanish
  • Lechuza de los arenalesSpanish
  • Lechuza LlaneraSpanish
  • Mochuelo De HoyoSpanish
  • Mochuelo de madrigueraSpanish
  • PequénSpanish
  • Tecolote llaneroSpanish
  • koopakakkEstonian
  • preeriapöllöFinnish
  • chevêche des terriersFrench
  • Chouette des terriersFrench
  • כוס המחילותHebrew
  • ćuk jamarCroatian
  • üregi bagolyHungarian
  • Civetta delle taneItalian
  • アナホリフクロウJapanese
  • 가시올빼미Korean
  • hiŋháŋ makȟótilaLakota
  • urvinė pelėdikėLithuanian
  • Rausiančioji pelėdaLithuanian
  • racējapogsLatvian
  • Mümfy
  • opv-kvpeluceMuscogee
  • Dlǫ́tah néʼéshjaaʼNavajo
  • holenuilDutch
  • graveugleNorwegian
  • ChocoPapiamento
  • ChogóPapiamento
  • ShocoPapiamento
  • pójdźka ziemnaPolish
  • guedéPortuguese
  • caburé-do-campoPortuguese
  • capotinhaPortuguese
  • coruja-buraqueiraPortuguese
  • Coruja-CupinzeiraPortuguese
  • coruja-mineiraPortuguese
  • corujinha-buraqueiraPortuguese
  • corujinha-do-buracoPortuguese
  • corujinha-do-campoPortuguese
  • mocho-buraqueiroPortuguese
  • urucueraPortuguese
  • urucureiaPortuguese
  • urucuriáPortuguese
  • Кроличий сычRussian
  • kuvik zemnýSlovak
  • Sova jamarkaSerbian
  • prärieugglaSwedish
  • Yer KukumavıTurkish
  • сич американськийUkrainian
  • 穴鴞Chinese
  • 穴小鸮Chinese

Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistTAXREFWikidataWoRMSIUCN Red List

Relatives of the burrowing owl

Other species in the same genus Athene.

Makira owl

Athene roseoaxillaris

StrigidaeNo free photo yet

CompareBurrowing owl vs Little owlBurrowing owl vs Spotted owletBurrowing owl vs Forest owletBurrowing owl vs White-browed owl

Common questions

Answered only where our data holds the answer.

How big is the burrowing owl?

An adult burrowing owl weighs 146.3 g – 156 g and has a wingspan of 59.5 cm, according to values recorded on Wikidata.

Is the burrowing owl endangered?

The burrowing owl is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, meaning it is not currently at risk of extinction.

How long does the burrowing owl live?

The burrowing owl has a recorded lifespan of 8.7 years.

What kind of animal is the burrowing owl?

The burrowing owl (Athene cunicularia) belongs to the family Strigidae in the order Strigiformes.

Sources and how to cite this page

Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.

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APA

CreatureData. (2026). Burrowing owl (Athene cunicularia). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/burrowing-owl

MLA

“Burrowing owl (Athene cunicularia).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/burrowing-owl.

BibTeX
@misc{burrowing_owl_2026,
  title = {Burrowing owl (Athene cunicularia)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/burrowing-owl},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}